Getting back the lapsed

For Catholic parents the question is an enduring concern: will the children continue practising the faith beyond their day of confirmation?

By all accounts, many do not. In Britain and many parts of Europe, some observers speak of Christianity in terms of erosion and even demise. Indeed, some have argued that the Church’s evangelisation efforts, at least in Europe, should no longer focus on the so-called “un-churched”, but on those baptised Catholics who have become detached from their Christian beliefs.

In other words, our efforts should be targeted at those who have heard the Good News, but reject them in favour of atheism, agnosticism or the vague “spiritual but not religious” philosophies.

Many dioceses and parishes in the United States especially are investing great resources in reaching out to lapsed Catholics. Such campaigns may include advertising in the press and on radio, distribution of Catholic media, direct marketing by way of letters, and the use of modern means of communication, especially the social media and cellphones.

The mission field of the 21st century no longer is in distant lands, but right on the doorsteps of many Catholics. And the missionaries today are found not only in the consecrated life – we are all called to contribute to the Church’s evangelising mission in many different ways.

Even in South Africa, where the secularisation of society has not yet reached such alarming proportions as in Europe, the question of how to “win back” inactive Catholics is becoming increasingly urgent.

As in many countries, the Catholic Church in Southern Africa has no articulated programme to win back so-called “lapsed” Catholics. Indeed, research into why Catholics lapse and how they can be persuaded to return remains largely unexplored.

Some of those who take an interest in the question suggest that re-evangelisation should not focus on the 18-35 age group. Instead, they argue, the time to reach out to lapsed Catholics is when such people are about to enter the middle years of their lives, when they are matured and possibly more open to settle for answers in the human quest for spiritual nourishment. This approach has some merit, and it seems to find expression especially in programmes such as Catholic Alpha.

The Church must also reach out to Catholics who, for whatever reason, have joined other churches, especially of the evangelical type. They have heard the Good News and believe, but they have abandoned the Catholicism of their youth – and with it their attachment to the sacraments.

What is lacking in the Catholic Church that they are finding in other churches? Are the reasons for leaving the Catholic Church predicated on theological, doctrinal or liturgical differences?

The Year of Faith, which begins in October, is a wonderful opportunity to address the reasons for the exodus of young people especially from the Catholic Church to other churches or no church at all.

It is a time when the Catholic Church must introspect, with complete honesty, and identify the reasons why Catholics become alienated from the Church they grew up in. The answers will reveal how this can be addressed.

At the same time, it isn’t good enough to give up on our youth. Their energy can be expressed and channelled towards a relationship with Christ with and through the sacraments. Occasions such as World Youth Day are a good example of how this can be done, as are Facebook and other social media initiatives, a field which Durban’s former archdiocesan youth chaplain, Fr Thembelani Ngcobo, pioneered so fruitfully.

In reaching the youth and others who have moved from the Catholic faith, we must find and encounter them where they are and speak their language.

We must know their challenges and acknowledge the conflicts they experience with faith in a sometimes hostile world, and provide appropriate guidance to introduce them to Jesus in a concrete way that transcends the formulas of catechism class.

The Year of Faith must be a time when we, as a Church, learn how to reach out to those who struggle with having faith. It is an opportunity that must not pass us by.